Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a deep fry pan and when it's hot, add the potatoes and onion.

Stir around in the oil to coat them and then turn the heat down to low. Add a sprinkling and salt and pepper, and then cover the saucepan with a lid.

Cook gently for 20 minutes or until tender. Do not let them colour up too much. You want them to gently stew in the oil.

Meanwhile break the eggs into a bowl and lightly break them up with a fork.

When the potatoes and onions are cook transfer them to the eggs in the bowl.

Put the frypan back on the heat on medium and add the rest of the olive oil and turn up to medium.

Stir the eggs and potato mixture to combine and then pour into the frypan. Turn the heat down to its lowest and then leave to cook for 20-25 minutes. Every now and then draw the edge in with a palette knife to create a lovely rounded edge.

When there is virtually no liquid left on the top surface of the tortilla, place a plate over the top of the frypan and gently invert he pan to flip the tortilla onto the plate.

Once it is on the plate, gently slide it back into the pan so the other side can cook.

Cook for about 2 minutes and then remove from heat for 5 minutes to settle.

Cut a small cross in the base of each tomato and plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds and then refresh in cold water. The peel will then come off easily. Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and slice the flesh into thin strips.

Heat oil in a wide, shallow saucepan over medium to high heat.

Ass the marinara mix and cook for 3 minutes or until it starts to colour.

Reduce the heat to medium and then add the sliced garlic, spring onion and chilli.

Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the tomato, tomato paste, saffron, wine and stock.

Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes or until the seafood is cooked through.

Meanwhile, heat a chargrill pan over high heat. Brush both sides of the bread with oil and grill for 2 minutes on each side until well coloured.

Rub each side of the bread with the whole garlic clove, then divide among the warmed serving bowls.

Lift the seafood out of the pan and place on the toast. Stir in the parsley. Boil the sauce rapidly for 5 minutes until reduced by half.

Pour over the seafood and bread and then sprinkle with parsley and serve.

And the dumplings were to die for! Yes, up there with something that wouldn't be far off a "last meal on earth" selection.

The absolute highlights were the Shao-Long Bao (or "soup dumplings"). Yes, delectable little meat filled dumplings that contain soupy liquid. After dipping in vinegar and garnishing with ginger you nibble a little corner off the dumpling and suck out the soupy liquid. Sexy food indeed!

And then for some spice, wontons with hot chilli sauce.Made the lips tingle and the mouth sing. Divine.

The other dishes we ordered (including pork belly, boiled pork dumpings, boiled dumplings stuffed with spinach, spicy squid, and prawn dumplings with chives from the specials menu) were also most enjoyable but had tough competition in the first two.

We were seated on the top floor amidst beautiful chinese wooden carvings and highlights of red.

Service was generally good and the price was definitely right for the 12 or so dishes we shared - $18 each for the six of us.

We will definitely be returning here again. And tonight I know what I'll be dreaming of!

1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped (use less if you don't like things spicy)

olive oil

2 teaspoons lime juice

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Mix the coriander, cashew nuts, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor until well blended.

With the motor running, add olive oil a little at a time until the pesto has a smooth consistency.

Add the lime juice and season with salt and black pepper.

Either use within a day or so, or spoon into a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge.

Once you’ve opened the jar, pour a thin layer of oil over the top of the pesto to keep it fresh.

Tip:Sterilise a jar by washing in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher, and then rinsing well. Place the jar and lid on a baking tray and dry in a warm oven for at least 20 minutes. Leave jar to cool before using.

While I have never been a smoker and experienced the shakes and agitation of withdrawal, I get what I can only imagine must be a similar deep sense of need when I haven't had yum cha for a while!Fortunately I have some friends who are also yum cha aficionados (or should that be "addicts") , and together we have commenced an exploration of Melbourne's yum cha scene. I hope you'll come along for the ride... just be sure to keep a tight hold on your chopsticks and keep the lazy-Susan a-spinning!Gold Leaf Chinese RestaurantAddress: 155 Burwood Highway, Burwood EastPhone: 9802 3788Yum Cha daily, open 7 daysWith six dining companions - including one hardcore vegetarian - we take our place at the 11am yum cha sitting. The large room is already buzzing with yum cha trolleys and the happy hum of diners taking their first bites.

Almost before we've had a moment to settle at the table, the trolleys descend upon us en masse and the battle of the yum cha begins. The "pushers" reel off what they have on offer: "You want prawn dumpling, prawn and chive dumpling, prawn and pork dumpling, steamed bun, steamed vegetables..." and a string of other things my ear doesn't quite capture. But these are not so much questions as assertions. In a court of law you are innocent until proven guilty. In this yum cha restaurant you are assumed to be wanting one of everything on the trolley unless you manage to shake your head or say no in time!

Needless to say we have soon assembled a wealth of steamer baskets and plates on our table. The dumplings are delightful - the steamed pastry thin but toothsome and the seafood, meat and vegetable fillings succulent and fresh.

A pan fried tofu-like skin encasing a vegetable filling is enjoyed by the vegetable and meat-lovers alike, as is a white latice-like pastry encasing a crunchy filling of vegetables, and squares of fried tofu dressed in a soy and chilli sauce. And while the pork buns are not of the typical white and fluffy variety, their denser bready texture and glazed top are a pleasant change.

A heaving plate of chinese brocolli provides a refreshing break in proceedings. But before long we are tucking into a plate of little whitebait encased in a crispy batter that is a little on the heavy side but lifted with the addition of thinly sliced chilli, garlic and spring onion.

And what looks like crumbed cutlets with a bone sticking out turns out to be a minced meat mixture encasing part of an egg, with a celery stick masquerading as the bone. In yum cha things are often not what they seem - but that is half the fun.

Unfortunately chinese desserts are often a bit of a disappointment. The one consistent exception I have found is the custard tart. Gold Leaf does not disappoint - the tart comes with a delightfully flaky pastry (that I am convinced travels straight to my hips - but to hell with it) and a still-warm filling of eggy custard. Divine.

Two other intriguing desserts capture our interest enough to liberate them from their trolleys. The first is a plate of balls - a little smaller than a tennis ball, encrusted in sesame seeds and deep fried. But once a chopstick is poked into it, it rapidly deflates and all that remains is a sticky paste with the dominant taste being the deep fried sesame seeds.

The other dessert of interest presents as three small pastries shaped and coloured to resemble cobbs of corn, still in their husks. But as one of our party observed after tasting these, they look a lot more interesting on the outside than they taste on the inside (which for the record, turned out to be some sort of sweetened bean paste filling). Ah well - you can't win them all.

While Gold Leaf restaurant may be out in the 'burbs, it is well worth a trip for a fun lunch with friends and lots of great taste sensations, including enough for vegetarians. Just be sure to bring a sense of curiosity and a good balance of assertiveness to fend off the trolley pusher advances lest you end up like one of the sesame encrusted balls!

Cost: Approx $20 pp for a stomach full of yum cha

The experience in a sentence:Mouthfuls of delectable steamed and fried delights amongst the frenetic pace of yum cha trolleys jostling for attention.

About Me

I'm passionate about travel, food (both cooking and eating), writing and photography. This blog is an opportunity to combine these passions and share my foodie adventures with friends and others who might wander by. So grab a nice glass of wine and get ready to start salivating!